Marquez is back
Marquez’ sixth on his return to MotoGP action was an interesting one with the Repsol Honda rider getting off the ground with a very solid performance at a venue which is close to his heart. For the records, the 29-year-old has won seven out of eight times he has raced in COTA.
Maverick Vinales ended Day 1 – P7 for Top Gun while Joan Mir, after briefly sitting P2, is currently heading into Q2 in P8 ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) – the two GP22 riders rounding out that all-important top 10 .
Lots of work to do
That means the latest GP winner Espargaro has work to do in FP3 if he is to grab an automatic place in Q2 in Austin, with the Spaniard missing out by a slender 0.015s.
Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – the leading KTM on a tough day for the factory – are the only other riders within a second of Zarco’s scintillating time, down in P12 and P13.
Flurry of riders
Miller had sat P1 after a flurry of riders set their personal best times in the early stages of the session, including Qatar GP winner Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP), Vinales (Aprilia Racing) and Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Opening night winner Bastianini had a good day at the office to finish P4, the Italian was 0.3sec away from Zarco’s pace.
Fascinating watch
FP3 at COTA will be a fascinating watch. With no rain forecast, conditions should allow for some time improvements to be made.
The qualifying session of the Americas GP, the historic 500th Grand Prix in motorcycle racing, begins from 2.10pm local time (12.40am IST, Sunday, April 11). Buck up guys!